


A Wasteland Fairy Tale

by bluebeholder



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Female Friendship, Gen, Mad Max Secret Santa 2015, Motorcycles, Valkyrie lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 01:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5478155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebeholder/pseuds/bluebeholder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they were young, Furiosa and Valkyrie wanted to be knights, riding the Wasteland on shiny motorcycles, defeating evil and protecting the innocent. But life--as it does when one lives in a post-apocalyptic desert--got in the way.</p><p>Many years later, Valkyrie gets the chance to try again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Wasteland Fairy Tale

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for onceuponaprime on Tumblr. Merry Christmas, friend! :)

There were three things that Valkyrie knew:

There was sand in her eyes and in her mouth.

Everything hurt.

And she wasn’t dead.

Eventually she managed to look up. It was dark, the sand as black as crude oil all around her. In the distance, if she managed to turn her head, she could see the faint orange glow of Gastown on the horizon. But there was nothing else.

She remembered crashing the bike, picking up the rifle, shooting, shooting, shooting…an impact that should have been hard enough to snap her bones, and then…nothing. 

Valkyrie had no idea how she’d survived.

But it sounded like she was the only one. It was just her, and the cold stars overhead, and the wind hissing across the barren ground. 

She rested her forehead back against the sand and swallowed past the sharp dryness of her throat. She had to think. They would have gone back to the Citadel, or died trying. She didn’t know if the plan had worked. If it had—if the pass was blocked—she’d find her way around. Rock Riders or no, she would make it to the Citadel. She had to know if they’d lived.

She couldn’t leave Furiosa again.

_Evening. Stars glimmering overhead, sun sinking low and red behind the distant mountains. Fire crackling in the center of the village._

_Grass stains on her knees and palms. Furi’s hand in hers. Laughing together, throwing handfuls of grass at the other children._

_The History Woman speaking. “Settle down, settle down. And I’ll tell you a story.”_

_Sitting by the fire. Excited. Scooting closer together to hear. Tonight would be a good story._

_“Once upon a time, there was a knight. She was brave and strong. She rode the Wasteland on a magnificent motorcycle, patrolling to defend the Green Places of the world. No matter what dangers she faced, she fought always to protect those who could not protect themselves…”_

_Furi whispering in Val’s ear. “We’re gonna be just like that someday.”_

_“Just like what?”_

_Grinning. “We’re gonna be knights.”_

If she wanted to make it to the Citadel, Valkyrie was going to have to get up. Eventually—she didn’t know how much time had passed—she managed to drag herself to her feet. She swayed, unsteady, and looked around. She was surrounded by the scattered wrecks of cars and trucks, but—thank the Goddess—no War Rig. So they’d made it further than this, at least. 

Fifteen meters away was her motorcycle. Valkyrie almost had to crawl to it, but she made it. She hurt all over. “Poor thing,” she whispered, trying to catch her breath, running a hand over the bent handlebars. “Didn’t mean to crash you…”

She needed guzzoline if she was going to make it. Her joints creaked and her head pounded. But she managed to get the motorcycle upright anyway. Its chains grated and its wheels slid on the sand. She had to struggle to keep it from falling, wheeling it slowly toward an overturned car. She had to use the motorcycle as a crutch. Her right leg felt like it was on fire. 

The car was stable enough for the motorcycle to lean against as she looked around for fuel. There was a gas can strapped inside the vehicle. Valkyrie’s ribs screamed every time she twisted around to try to reach it. Progress was agonizingly slow. But finally the can clattered free, bouncing out the snapped window frame and into the sand. She shook it and almost burst into tears. It was empty.

_Coming over the ridge without warning. Huge cars full of bone-white men. Explosions. Men dragging people into the cars, beating them with sticks and spears and shooting them with guns. Burning. The Green Place burning._

_Pulling Furi out of sight. Down behind a big tree. Val whispering. “We gotta run.”_

_“No!” Furi grabbing a stick off the ground and holding it up for Val. “We have to help!”_

_“We can’t!” Tugging on the stick, trying to get Furi to let go._

_Furi scowling. “Do you want to be like the knight in the story or not?”_

_Silence._

_Nodding. Picking up another stick._

_Running out of cover. Hitting out at a man with bloody eyes and monster teeth and a knife in his hands._

_Another man grabbing Furi and throwing her into a car. Screaming. Screaming. Screaming._

_Someone picking Val up and dropping her on a motorcycle, roaring away into the Wasteland. The scout Eleanor with crow feathers in her hair. Carrying Val away from the Green Place. Away from Furi._

_That night. Parents wailing and crying. Eleanor screaming herself hoarse on the ridge. The Keeper of the Seeds sitting still and silent in a burnt-up field._

_Val asking. “When is Furi coming back?”_

_They answer. “Furiosa won’t come back.”_

She ended up siphoning what little guzzoline was left in the car’s tank into the motorcycle. By the time she was done, Valkyrie was lightheaded and dizzy. Finally she pulled herself together enough to crawl onto the motorcycle and turn the key in the ignition.

It didn’t start.

“No!” she yelled, slamming her fist down on the side of the fuel tank. “No, no, no!”

She twisted the key again and again, trying to get the engine to do more than cough, punctuating each failed attempt with a dry scream. Finally she slumped over the front of the bike, choking on impotence and rage. The metal of the fuel tank was cold on her face. Her leg burned and her ribs hurt and her head was pounding so hard she almost couldn’t think. 

For some reason, four words kept going around and around in her head. Once upon a time…once upon a time…once upon a time…

That was a story, wasn’t it? An old story they hadn’t told in years. 

“Once upon a time, there was a knight,” Valkyrie rasped, cracked lips scraping against the fuel tank. “She was brave…” Spine making alarming cracking sounds, Valkyrie sat up slowly and squeezed the key tight. “…and strong…”

She turned the key.

The engine roared.

Valkyrie whooped and punched the air. The coughing fit that followed didn’t even slow her down. She was going to make it. She was going to make it back to Furiosa. 

The edge of the horizon was barely limned with light as Valkyrie began her ride across the desert toward the Citadel. 

_Talking about what to do next. So many wounded and even more dead. The Green Place devastated. Crops gone, houses burned, trees felled._

_The History Woman speaking. “We can’t leave.”_

_Eleanor challenging. “Why not? Because of what might be out there?”_

_“We have children left!” A father shouting. “Not all of them were taken from us!”_

_Another woman weeping. “But they know where we are! They’ll come back! Take us like they took Mary JoBassa! Take all the children like they took Furiosa!”_

_The rest of the clan comforting the desolate mothers. Eleanor arguing with the History Woman more. Too loud. Too scary. No brave Furi to keep her there._

_Val slipping away to stand by the motorcycles the scouts ride. Trying to climb up onto them. Falling down on the sand. Crying._

_Interruption. Keeper speaking. “What are you doing, little Val?”_

_“I wanna ride.”_

_“You’re too young.” Keeper picking Val up and carrying her back to the village center. “Maybe someday.”_

_Looking back at the motorcycles. “Someday I’m going to be a knight. Just like Furi wanted.”_

Furiosa had collapsed the pass.

Valkyrie had to take the long way around. But she didn’t mind. Just looking at the wreckage made her feel hopeful about what she was going to find at the Citadel.

She was pretty sure that every one of those bastards had gotten what they deserved.

As she closed in on the Citadel, rising towering and surprisingly gorgeous in the distance, she thought she saw a plume of dust racing away. For half a second, Valkyrie considered following it, but ended up deciding not to. If it turned out it was Furiosa, it wouldn’t take her that long to catch up.

Though the sun was rising, the base of the Citadel was still completely in shadow. Still, Valkyrie could see the immense cataract of water pouring down the side of the Citadel. Her throat ached and instantly she was so thirsty that water was all she could think about. She turned the motorcycle and headed for the waterfall. 

The water fell into a huge pool and then flowed into a shallow canal. There were people around it—though not as many as Valkyrie might have expected—who didn’t even look up when she slid off the motorcycle. The bike fell over behind her as she headed for the canal. She slumped down on the sandy bank heedless of anything else and scooped water up in her hands. 

Handfuls of water weren’t going to be enough, so she just plunged her face into the murky water and drank until she felt like she was going to burst. Valkyrie pulled herself away from the water. She had to find Furiosa. Someone would know where she was…

But when she tried to stand up, she couldn’t. She was too dizzy and her leg hurt too much and she was struggling to breathe properly. Her vision blacked out around the edges, going narrower and narrower and the ground was falling away from her…

_A motorcycle. It gleams in the sunlight, polished and buffed, looking almost like new. Most of the parts even match. Valkyrie shaking her head in disbelief. “For—for me?”_

_“Of course.” Keeper speaking. “You’re a scout now. It’s time to give you a bike.”_

_Approaching the bike. Awe-inspiring. It’s beautiful and strong. Looking just like Valkyrie thought it would, with not too many replacement parts. “I can ride it? Ride out with you?”_

_Women nodding and smiling. The scouts are proud._

_Valkyrie’s initiate mother Eleanor speaking. “You’ve earned it, little Val.”_

_“Not quite so little anymore.” Keeper clapping Valkyrie’s shoulder. “She’s a warrior, not a child.”_

_The History Woman tying a scarf around Valkyrie’s neck. Looking up with keen eyes. “One might even dare to call her a knight.”_

_Pride bubbling up. Climbing onto the seat, taking the handlebars, tasting freedom. “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s ride!”_

_All taking to their motorcycles. Engine thrumming between her knees. Wind in her hair and eyes on the horizon. Smiling. “I did it, Furiosa. I finally did it.”_

When she woke up it was warm and comfortable and her leg wasn’t burning anymore, but her ribs hurt something awful. Valkyrie cracked an eyelid open cautiously. There was a ceiling above her head, a reddish stone ceiling. She was indoors, then. She was lying in a bed, decently comfortable, and there wasn’t sand in her hair or caked on her skin. A faint tugging sensation in the crook of her elbow made her think that maybe she’d been hooked up to some kind of intravenous fluid delivery. Which explained why she didn’t feel quite as dehydrated anymore.

Slowly, neck muscles too stiff for anything better, she turned her head to look around. Her vision was blurry, but enough. The room was simple and Spartan: a desk, a bookshelf, a curtain over the door, and a box full of live plants in the window. 

“Hello?” she croaked. “Anyone there?”

There was a rustling in the room beyond, then the sound of footsteps. The curtain slipped open and a familiar woman stepped inside. “Hey,” Furiosa said softly.

Valkyrie smiled. “I made it,” she said.

Furiosa crossed the room in two quick steps, pulling the desk chair with her as she went and swinging it around to sit by Valkyrie. “Don’t know how,” she said. “Thought you died.”

“You know me better than that.” Valkyrie raised a hand to tangle her fingers with Furiosa’s. 

“Why’d you come back?” the other woman asked after a moment. “Might not have been us in charge here. Might have still been the Immortan. You wouldn’t have made it.”

Valkyrie shrugged as best she could. “Didn’t want to leave you behind again,” she admitted. “First time was bad enough. Couldn’t do it again.”

Gently, Furiosa leaned in and knocked her forehead against Valkyrie’s. “I don’t deserve to have a friend like you,” she said. 

“Do you remember,” Valkyrie started, and paused.

“Remember what?” Furiosa asked.

“Do you remember the stories they used to tell us?” Valkyrie asked. “About the knight who rode the Wasteland to protect the Green Places?”

Furiosa closed her eyes and nodded, humming in agreement. “I do. Why?”

Valkyrie stared at the ceiling. “It sound silly, but…when I saw you, fighting that man’s evil to protect all those innocent people, driving the War Rig…I thought for a minute that you were the knight.”

The noise Furiosa let out was something between a laugh and a sob. “That’s almost funny,” she said. “When I saw you on the motorcycle, riding back toward the Citadel just to protect people, I thought the same thing. You were the knight.”

“What a pair we are,” Valkyrie muttered, and squeezed her friend’s hand tight. “Mind sticking around for a while?”

Furiosa returned the pressure on Valkyrie’s hand. “A thousand-horsepower engine couldn’t drag me away,” she said.

Never letting go of Valkyrie’s hand, Furiosa leaned back in her chair. Finally safe, Valkyrie closed her eyes.


End file.
